October continues to be challenging

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

This is last week's check-in, quite a few days late. In my defense, last Friday I had to frantically finish some work before noon, and then I took a road trip. So no time to blog about my week, which was pretty much just as bad as the week before.

It has been a hard month, but there have been some high points, too. I'm still mostly glad that I put off my radiation therapy because I have been able to enjoy some sunny days on the water. The weekend before last was nice. On Saturday, it was cold and really windy, and I got strange looks for being out on the water, but it was excellent practice for handling my canoe and surfing the waves in my upcoming race. On Sunday, it was a lot calmer and the sun peeked out, so I took my team-mate Barbara out for a spin in the double.

I took this pic of her with her camera

then she took this one of me

She was afraid to go out by herself, but she was actually great in the double. I hadn't intended to leave the little back channel where our docks are located, but she was so stable and calm that I decided to take her for a ride downtown. This excursion improved my mood immensely.

When I wasn't paddling or working, though, I spent a lot of time feeling sorry for myself. Luckily, I've started seeing a therapist and she is helping me work through my feelings. She's also helping me realize that I am distancing myself from my partner and I need to communicate with her better. So it's already paying off to see her. I've also been doing some emotional eating and going out to eat more, and it's showing in my waistline.

At a place called "Brgr" with my coworkers, prior to pigging out

I've also been enjoying plenty of kitten therapy, of course.

Wow, that's several weeks in a row with the catpix. If my little dogter knew, she would feel so neglected! I will include a dog pic ext time I blog, or maybe the time after next because I'm planning to write one about my first outrigger canoe race.

OK I really need to get back to work, so just a very quick summary of last week on my goals:

FITNESS - ok. Got in a couple long runs and a couple good paddles. ST can wait until next month.

NUTRITION - not so good, again. Making sure to eat my fruits, veggies, fiber and protein but also going a LOT of over-eating. Eating out AND eating junk food at home in the evenings. Hence the weight creeping up, despite the intense workouts.

OTHER - weight is coming up slowly, and I expect that to continue until I go back to tracking and get my snacking under control. On the mental front, I'm taking care of business by going to see a therapist. On the physical front, I had my CT scan for radiation on my breast, and I finally put on my big girl pants and start my treatments on Halloween

DEGENNAN
You guys, thank you for all the kind and thoughtful comments. I was having a really bad day yesterday and I ate all kinds of junk to try and make myself feel better. And you know what? It didn't help. My partner even noticed and tried to be sweet with me but I was pretty despondent. Luckily, I forced myself off my warm couch and picked the kitten off my lap this morning so I could go work out. Rain or no rain. And HVACWOMAN - I thought of you and did some ST! And all that definitely helped me feel better. Thanks again for all the nice comments - it was helpful to not feel so alone.2121 days ago

RAINBOWCHARMER
I'm kind of in that boat too. Not doing fantastic with eating, but getting some exercise in, but not as much as I planned... lots of excuses for why... I guess we all go through things that just get in the way of our best intentions.

Good luck with the radiation! Hopefully it goes well and doesn't leave you with too many side effects. Keep us posted there.

And yes, we need pictures of the doggy soon!!

I'm not the world's biggest cat fan and I am in need of a pooch pic. :)2122 days ago

WONDEROONA
Be kind to yourself and you will find yourself being kind to others. I'm glad you're starting your radiation again. Well, not glad, but you know what I mean. You got to start your strength training. You know that muscle helps burn fat and if you did more strength training, maybe your waistline would not increase.....LOL.I know....I don't make it a priority but lately I've been doing coach nicole's strength training and cardio videos. They are great for a short workout and there are a couple of good strength training ones that take care of the whole body. Check them out sometime.Hope you have a good rest of the week. PS-If you don't start ST, I'm telling your doggie on you!! LOVE THE CAT!!!2122 days ago

ANNIE7205
Sounds like you're making progress in some very important areas. Thanks for the update. And the kitty is, as always, adorable. That was my second dose of "awwww" today (co-worker's daughter brought in her 8 week old golden retriever puppy) and totally needed, thanks!2122 days ago